Continue on the tour by following the main road mostly along
the coast, towards Capoliveri. This old town is located
on a hill with quaint alleyways
that intersect each other on different levels, many of which
are full of life in the evening and have numerous craft stands.
The town square, now famous for its numerous Summer concerts,
offers a beautiful
view out onto Stella Gulf and over that part of town. There
are many beautiful beaches around the town: Zuccale,
Morcone,
Innamorata,
Cala Nuova (to name but a few). 3 km from Capoliveri, in the
locality of the same name, is the Sanctuary of the Madonna
delle Grazie. At the same distance but in the opposite direction
is Fort
Focardo, positioned on the extreme point of Cape Pero and
built in 1678 to watch over the entry to Cala
Nuova and Mola Bay, where Porto Azzurro is located, the
next town that you will visit. Already in the distance you can
see Fort
S. Giacomo, built in 1603 by the Spanish and located on
the hill above the town, and which is now a penitentiary. Porto
Azzurro suddenly appears around the last curve of the road,
immediately striking you with its gracious tourist port and
church bell tower rising above the palms on the street that
goes around the square by the sea. There are three characterful
restaurants on pilings clearly visible in the photo. Exiting
from the town after 1 km in the direction of Rio Marina (our
next destination), you can make a little side-trip to visit
the Sanctuary of Monserrato (about 2 km from the crossroads).
A place in the middle of a rocky, red-hued gorge, it is a place
hidden and unique on the island. Rejoin the road for Rio
Marina, where the old pyrite mines from which they dug for
iron ore are clearly visible above
the town, and which are now closed and turned into a mineral
park. In town is also a museum of the minerals of Elba. On the
town mole stands the
tower with a clock built by the Appiani in 1500. Turn back
in the direction of Rio
Elba, rejoining the street just travelled. Consider that
the town was the first inhabited center on the island and that
the mineral veins were already being exploited in the Neolithic
period, as testified to by several finds in the grotto of S
Giuseppe. To return to Portoferraio, follow along a narrow but
short road that crosses Mount Volterraio. After having scaled
it (alt 350 m), you have a splendid panoramic vista over the
bay
of Portoferraio which is spectacular at the time of sunset.
A little further on there is what remains of the Castle
of Volterraio, built circa 1000 A.D. on top of a rocky spur.
